A Pakistani diplomat said on Tuesday the extension of the amnesty to Nov. 3 was a Ramadan gift from the Saudi leadership to illegal workers.

Deputy Head of the Mission and Minister at the Pakistan Embassy Khayyam Akbar made the remarks during a speech at a community iftar function hosted by Rana Khalid Akram, the newly elected president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Group (PML-N) at the Riyadh Palace Hotel on Tuesday.

Akbar said the foreign missions in the Kingdom were grateful to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for his magnanimity.

He urged his compatriots to use the amnesty period to ensure workers can sort out their status, even though it is Ramadan. “We understand the severe heat of the summer and the hardships one has to undergo during the fasting period,” he said.

Akbar recalled that Pakistan Ambassador Muhammad Naeem Khan was in Jeddah for two meetings with Saudi government officials to get assistance for workers.

“We at the embassy, under the guidance of our ambassador, are working around the clock to relieve workers of their problems. The ambassador has already pledged that he would do his maximum to ensure that no illegal Pakistani worker leaves the Kingdom on a final exit.

But it all depends on the workers who have to play their part with sincerity and diligence to facilitate the process,” he said. He said extensive arrangements have been made by the embassy to host the second job fair during Ramadan in Riyadh, Dammam/Alkhobar and Qassim.

“The first job fair will be held on Thursday at the Pakistan International School in Nasiriyah, Riyadh. It will be held at the Pakistan International School at Alkhobar on July 25 and 26.”

“These job fairs shall commence after Taraweeh at 10 p.m. and conclude at 2 a.m. before sahoor,” he said. He called on the Pakistani community to assist officials at the fair. “This is a trying time for our Pakistani workers and we must all try to do our best to help them resolve their problems,” he said. Similar projects have been earmarked for expatriates in Jeddah.

In his welcome address, Akram said officials would be using most of their free time to help workers.

Businessman Muhammad Asghar Qureshi, an executive member of the Overseas Pakistani Foundation, who is the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party in Riyadh, congratulated Akram on his new position. “I wish the present government well and trust it will serve the country to the best of its ability.”

Abdul Malik Mujahid, managing director of Darussalam publishers, said the new Pakistan government has huge challenges and hoped they would be successfully overcome to restore peace and prosperity in the country.

Hafiz Abdul Waheed of Majlis Pakistan entertained the audience with his Urdu and Punjabi poems.